Creators of the Māori educational children’s show, Pūkoro, are entering a new realm to bring its characters, songs and puzzles to life, online.
TE AO PŪKORO is the cyber world of Pūkoro, full of interactive computer games, video clips with craft ideas and stories, printable colouring-in sheets and much more.
General Manager of Kura Productions, Karen Waaka-Tibble says the development of TE AO PŪKORO was something Kura Productions had envisaged when Pūkoro first started, as a way to provide support to whānau and kōhanga committed to fostering te reo Māori.
“This is a chance for us to give our pre-schoolers’ favourite te reo Māori television programme, the same value and depth as shows like Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street. Much of what makes up the website has been sourced from themes of the show itself, but the games have been created from scratch. It’s new and exciting and we can’t wait to see what the kids think of the games – remembering it’s targeted at our pēpi!”
Content on the website is entirely in te reo Māori and was supported by funding from Te Māngai Pāho's Digital Innovation Fund 2014.
Executive Producer, of Kura Productions, Quinton Hita says, "Resources of this quality for kōhanga-aged children are extremely rare and is paving the way for Pūkoro to continue beyond television."
Hita says, "We’re trying to think of new ways to celebrate our reo and support those that want to learn… this is just the first step for us and hopefully we can build on this and create other reo-speaking worlds for our tamariki to engage with.”
Te Ao Pūkoro will be launched at an exclusive invitation-only event hosted by presenters of Pūkoro. Only a few will be lucky enough to attend this event, with golden tickets being given away on the Pūkoro Facebook Page.